Published: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at 11:21 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at 11:21 p.m.

With one flick of his wrist, Forest guard Christian Spaulding turned a potential game-breaking play into the game-winner.

With a minute left and North Marion clinging to a 53-52 lead over the host Wildcats, the Colts’ Zach Collins swatted away a Jordan Smith shot attempt, seemingly putting Forest on the ropes with neither the ball nor the lead.

But with 59 seconds left, Spaulding hit the floor for the loose ball and, in one motion, flipped it behind his back to Smith.

Smith then buried the go-ahead basket, putting the Wildcats ahead for good in a 56-53 victory on Tuesday night.

“Unbelievable play,” Forest coach Steve Powell said. “Christian, he always has a knack of getting his hands on the ball. That was probably one of the most outstanding plays I’ve seen around here in a long time.”

Spaulding, a 6-foot-senior, had been battling illness and limited in practice but rose to the occasion down the stretch Tuesday as Forest picked up a gritty non-district win to up its record to 19-5.

“It comes down to being able to make plays,” Powell said. “We have guys who made plays. Christian made that play there and then the defense, we had two good defensive stands that won it for us.”

North Marion fell to 11-12 on the season and was left scratching its head after a game they led for much of the way. The Colts took a five-point lead into halftime and led for much of the fourth quarter, including a 53-50 advantage after Collins’ jumper with 2:10 remaining.

Then Forest closed the game on a 6-0 run.

After Spaulding’s two free throws made it a three-point lead with 11 seconds left, the Colts failed to get off a potential game-tying 3-point attempt before the final buzzer.

“We had every opportunity to make baskets and we didn’t,” North Marion coach David Waters said. “We missed a lot of baskets in the paint. We turned the ball over several times down the stretch and you just can’t do that against them.”

The Colts got another big night from senior forward Naquan Stokes, who poured in a game-high 21 points. However, no other North Marion player reached double digits. Only Theryon Sampson came close with eight points, while the Colts starting backcourt of Freddy Goins and C.J. Damon was held to just five total points on 2-for-6 shooting.

Powell said his team’s defense was a work in progress through the game, but improved late.

“We didn’t defend real well in the first half,” the veteran Forest coach said. “We couldn’t stop the ball and we didn’t do a good job of stepping up and helping out. At halftime we challenged those guys to play better defensive.”

Meanwhile, Forest’s offense trended the opposite direction from North Marion’s. The Wildcats suffered a miserable 4-of-14 second quarter from the field, but reversed it in the second half by shooting 55 percent (11-for-20) in the third and fourth quarters combined.

Jordan Smith had a double-double for the ’Cats with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Geron Christian led Forest with 14 points and nine boards. Overall, the two spearheaded a commanding game on the boards in which the Wildcats outrebounded the Colts 31-21.

Afterward, Waters singled out Christian as being particularly problematic for his Colts defense.

“He ate us alive,” Waters said. “We harassed him, but when he got the ball in the paint, he put the ball in the basket. There’s no big man in our district like him. We won’t have to worry about facing another big who’s that strong and that physical.”

North Marion will get two more tough tests this week — Hawthorne on Thursday and Williston on Friday — before turning its attention to next week’s District 5A-6 tournament at Palatka. There, the Colts will assume the No. 3 seed and face a Gainesville Eastside team on Tuesday that swept them in the regular season.

Forest will be the No. 1 seed in the 7A-1 tourney next week and will open on the road Tuesday at Gainesville Buchholz.

Before then, the Wildcats will close out their regular season in search of their 20th win Friday at home against Dunnellon.

<p>With one flick of his wrist, Forest guard Christian Spaulding turned a potential game-breaking play into the game-winner.</p><p>With a minute left and North Marion clinging to a 53-52 lead over the host Wildcats, the Colts' Zach Collins swatted away a Jordan Smith shot attempt, seemingly putting Forest on the ropes with neither the ball nor the lead.</p><p>But with 59 seconds left, Spaulding hit the floor for the loose ball and, in one motion, flipped it behind his back to Smith. </p><p>Smith then buried the go-ahead basket, putting the Wildcats ahead for good in a 56-53 victory on Tuesday night.</p><p>“Unbelievable play,” Forest coach Steve Powell said. “Christian, he always has a knack of getting his hands on the ball. That was probably one of the most outstanding plays I've seen around here in a long time.”</p><p>Spaulding, a 6-foot-senior, had been battling illness and limited in practice but rose to the occasion down the stretch Tuesday as Forest picked up a gritty non-district win to up its record to 19-5.</p><p>“It comes down to being able to make plays,” Powell said. “We have guys who made plays. Christian made that play there and then the defense, we had two good defensive stands that won it for us.”</p><p>North Marion fell to 11-12 on the season and was left scratching its head after a game they led for much of the way. The Colts took a five-point lead into halftime and led for much of the fourth quarter, including a 53-50 advantage after Collins' jumper with 2:10 remaining.</p><p>Then Forest closed the game on a 6-0 run. </p><p>After Spaulding's two free throws made it a three-point lead with 11 seconds left, the Colts failed to get off a potential game-tying 3-point attempt before the final buzzer.</p><p>“We had every opportunity to make baskets and we didn't,” North Marion coach David Waters said. “We missed a lot of baskets in the paint. We turned the ball over several times down the stretch and you just can't do that against them.”</p><p>The Colts got another big night from senior forward Naquan Stokes, who poured in a game-high 21 points. However, no other North Marion player reached double digits. Only Theryon Sampson came close with eight points, while the Colts starting backcourt of Freddy Goins and C.J. Damon was held to just five total points on 2-for-6 shooting.</p><p>Powell said his team's defense was a work in progress through the game, but improved late.</p><p>“We didn't defend real well in the first half,” the veteran Forest coach said. “We couldn't stop the ball and we didn't do a good job of stepping up and helping out. At halftime we challenged those guys to play better defensive.”</p><p>Meanwhile, Forest's offense trended the opposite direction from North Marion's. The Wildcats suffered a miserable 4-of-14 second quarter from the field, but reversed it in the second half by shooting 55 percent (11-for-20) in the third and fourth quarters combined.</p><p>Jordan Smith had a double-double for the 'Cats with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Geron Christian led Forest with 14 points and nine boards. Overall, the two spearheaded a commanding game on the boards in which the Wildcats outrebounded the Colts 31-21. </p><p>Afterward, Waters singled out Christian as being particularly problematic for his Colts defense. </p><p>“He ate us alive,” Waters said. “We harassed him, but when he got the ball in the paint, he put the ball in the basket. There's no big man in our district like him. We won't have to worry about facing another big who's that strong and that physical.”</p><p>North Marion will get two more tough tests this week — Hawthorne on Thursday and Williston on Friday — before turning its attention to next week's District 5A-6 tournament at Palatka. There, the Colts will assume the No. 3 seed and face a Gainesville Eastside team on Tuesday that swept them in the regular season.</p><p>Forest will be the No. 1 seed in the 7A-1 tourney next week and will open on the road Tuesday at Gainesville Buchholz.</p><p>Before then, the Wildcats will close out their regular season in search of their 20th win Friday at home against Dunnellon.</p><p><i>Andy Marks can be reached at andy.marks@starbanner.com.</i></p>